[Music] The Love of a Lifetime -- Lowell Lo

Poster for A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella (1995)

Stephen Chow

Athena Chu

 Lowell Lo

1. The Love of a Lifetime ("一生所愛") is one of the theme songs of the 1995 Hong Kong movie A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella ("西遊記大結局之仙履奇緣").

This movie is part of a trilogy consisting also of:

(a) A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box ("西遊記第壹佰零壹回之月光寶盒") (1995); and

(b) A Chinese Odyssey Part Three ("大話西遊終結篇") (in-progress).

The movie stars, among others, Stephen Chow and Athena Chu.

 
2. The singer and the composer of this song is Lowell Lo.

The lyrics is by Lowell Lo's wife Susan Tong.

Lowell Lo is very talented and I have been a fan of his music since the 1980s.

Looking back over a 30 plus years music career, I am a little surprised that he wrote and sang many commercially successful songs and yet his songs are not conventional or vulgar.

There is a free-spirited and other-worldly feel to some of his songs which I find very appealing.


3. The Love of a Lifetime (1995) by Lowell Lo:

Videos with scene from the movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAJmDIGrdJg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h46F_sQVLjI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y10WEfX1vQ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYUmcwcRth8


Concert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ull58YWDots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWAziVssSnY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYkOG5OmUcA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIEB1qW01IQ


With English subtitles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw_hlzIet6g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyC15G_xPM8


Music videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyOIqLhSWkA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6JFDW0Vwu4


4. Some other singers:

Shu Qi of Taiwan is a well-known actress:

Shu Qi in Cantonese:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8F723GBY34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqBs-3gSHTo

Shu Qi in Mandarin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vo_UFe0iaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ16BS__MbQ


Tracy Wang of Mainland China:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAuPoecV5MI


Tan Weiwei of the Mainland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvdgFRCWCTc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeFM3rzSA5g


Sa Ji of the Mainland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0ZbSSGDU_o


Jessie Liu in Mandarin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bhVHuZl0cA


5. Piano:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5eAGcgt2Y8


Saxophone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zZcjEdErms


6. The Lyrics in Traditional Chinese:


一生所愛 -- 盧冠廷

從前現在   過去再不來
紅紅落葉   長埋塵土內
開始終結總是   沒變改
天邊的你飄泊   白雲外

* 苦海   翻起愛恨
在世間   難逃避命運
相親   竟不可接近
或我應該相信是緣份

情人別後   永遠再不來   (消散的情緣)
無言獨坐   放眼塵世外   (願來日再聚)
鮮花雖會凋謝   (只願)
但會再開   (為你)
一生所愛隱約   (守候)
在白雲外   (期待)

Repeat *, *


7. The Lyrics in Simplified Chinese:


一生所爱 -- 卢冠廷

从前现在   过去再不来
红红落叶   长埋尘土内
开始终结总是   没变改
天边的你飘泊   白云外

* 苦海   翻起爱恨
在世间   难逃避命运
相亲   竟不可接近
或我应该相信是缘份

情人别后   永远再不来 (消散的情缘)
无言独坐   放眼尘世外 (愿来日再聚)
鲜花虽会凋谢 (只愿)
但会再开 (为你)
一生所爱隐约 (守候)
在白云外 (期待)

Repeat *, *


8. Names, Words and Phrases:

Athena Chu (Traditional Chinese: 朱茵; Simplified Chinese: 朱茵).

Jessie Liu (Traditional: 劉美誼; Simplified: 刘美谊).

Lowell Lo (Traditional: 盧冠廷; Simplified: 卢冠廷).

Sa Ji (Traditional: 薩吉; Simplified: 萨吉).

Shu Qi (Traditional: 舒淇; Simplified: 舒淇).

Stephen Chow (Traditional: 周星馳; Simplified: 周星驰).

Susan Tong (Traditional: 唐書琛; Simplified: 唐书琛).

Tan Weiwei (Traditional: 譚維維; Simplified: 谭维维).

Tracy Wang (Traditional: 汪小敏; Simplified: 汪小敏).


References:

"Lowell Lo", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Lo
(accessed 2015-10-25).

"Lowell Lo Koon Ting", Hong Kong Cinemagic,
http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/people.asp?id=282
(accessed 2015-10-25).

"盧冠廷", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E7%9B%A7%E5%86%A0%E5%BB%B7
(accessed 2015-10-25).

"唐書琛", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8%E7%90%9B
(accessed 2015-10-25).

"一生所爱", baike.com,
http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E4%B8%80%E7%94%9F%E6%89%80%E7%88%B1
(accessed 2015-10-25).

"西遊記第壹佰零壹回之月光寶盒", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E8%A5%BF%E9%81%8A%E8%A8%98%E7%AC%AC%E5%A3%B9%E4%BD%B0%E9%9B%B6%E5%A3%B9%E5%9B%9E%E4%B9%8B%E6%9C%88%E5%85%89%E5%AF%B6%E7%9B%92
(accessed 2015-10-25).

"西遊記大結局之仙履奇緣", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E8%A5%BF%E9%81%8A%E8%A8%98%E5%A4%A7%E7%B5%90%E5%B1%80%E4%B9%8B%E4%BB%99%E5%B1%A5%E5%A5%87%E7%B7%A3
(accessed 2015-10-25).

"大話西遊終結篇", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%A4%A7%E8%A9%B1%E8%A5%BF%E9%81%8A%E7%B5%82%E7%B5%90%E7%AF%87
(accessed 2015-10-25).

End.

[Opinion] Vision for China

China

1. Quotations of the Day:

 
The Holy Bible

(Proverbs 29:18 ESV):

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
but blessed is he who keeps the law.


(Judges 21:25 ESV):

In those days there was no king in Israel.
Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.


(Proverbs 18:12 HCSB):

Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.


2. In the last 200 years, China misses opportunity after opportunities for reform.

I believe the current leadership in Beijing has done no better.

Why is that so?

I do not believe there is a lack of people who wants to see China changes for the better.

Many have laid down their lives to that end.

I believe the fundamental problems are a lack of vision, an incorrect assessment of human nature, and a consequential lack of appreciation for ethics and laws.

The followings will focus on a lack of vision.


3. The Preamble to The Constitution of the United States of America (1787):

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The Preamble expresses and is grounded in a set of fundamental values.

In the Preamble, the people of the United States are lifted up to a vision of a more perfect union, justice, domestic tranquility, common defense, general welfare and the blessings of liberty.

There is no corresponding vision in the Preamble to The Constitution of the People's Republic of China (2004).

The Preamble to the Chinese Constitution is a partisan document touting "the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the guidance of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought".

I believe it is this lack of vision that makes China misses opportunity after opportunities for reform.

To reform is to change in a certain direction.

A vision provides the goal or direction for change and the reforms are means to the end of that vision.

Without vision the people cast off restraint; without vision everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Without vision, the policies and decisions of the Chinese Government are just a series of maneuvers to gain strategic and tactical advantages in the political, economics, and military arenas.


4. The two main constraints and drivers for recent historical changes are human nature and the power of a free market.

It is human nature to have material needs and wants and it is a free market that is the most efficient vehicle to deliver those material needs and wants.

A free market is most efficient because in a free market only the fittest survive.

One way to read recent world history is to read it as a series of events to align the world's political and economics systems with the existence of a free market.

Because of the underlying human needs and wants for material things, market forces became one of the main driver for historical changes.

But not all political and economic systems with their underlying values are compatible with the existence of a free market.

From this perspective, the main question for recent world history is:

What political forms and value systems are compatible with a free market?

[Free Market] <==> (compatible with) [Political Form?] + [Value System?]


5. Arnold J. Toynbee (1889 - 1975) famously analyzed the genesis, growth, breakdown and disintegration of civilizations in terms of challenge and response.

The challenges for contemporary civilizations are the challenges of modernity and the main challenge of modernity is the challenge of alignment of political forms and value systems with the existence of free markets.

(a) Western European nations were the first ones to step over the threshold of modernity.

The political form of Western Europe (i.e. democracy) and its underlying value system (i.e. Reformation and Enlightenment) have basically made peace with the existence of free markets.

[Free Market] <==> (compatible with) [Democracy] + [Reformation and Enlightenment]

(b) Religion is a source of values and the challenge for contemporary Islamic countries is to find a political form that is compatible with itself and a free market:

[Free Market] + [Islam] <==> (compatible with) [Political Form?]

We are witnessing the birth pains of Islamic countries in search of a political system that is compatible with itself and the existence of free markets.

(c) The challenge for the Communist Party of China is different from Islamic countries in that it is in search of a value system that is compatible with itself and a free market:

[Free Market] + [Totalitarian Government] <==> (compatible with) [Value System?]

China has tried to revive some form of Confucianism as its value system but it has been to no avail.

But the more basic problem is that a free market is fundamentally incompatible with totalitarianism.

The totalitarianism of China is political in nature -- everything is interpret in terms of politics and is done in service to politics.

In pride the totalitarians think that even a free market will be subject to their control and manipulation and will bow its head to politics.

In the last few months, we have witnessed the consequences of what happened when the Chinese government tried to control the stock market through administrative means.


6. In the last 200 years, China misses opportunity after opportunities for reform and it is continuing to do so.

A fundamental problem is a lack of vision for China.

The Communist Party of China lacks a vision for China because it has always put its self-interest over the national interest of China: its highest priority has always been its own continuing grip on power.

The early years of reform under Deng Xiaoping (1904 - 1997) saw the interests of China and the interests of the Communist Party of China more or less coincide.

But the divergence between the two interests became apparent after the events of 1989 Tiananmen Square.

China became a member of WTO (World Trade Organization) in December, 2001 and that membership has bought China another 15 years for implementing reforms.

Internal party politics and not implementing many of the WTO requirements (or blocking them through administrative means) have squandered this window of opportunity.

Without a vision to guide them, the policies and decisions of China are reduced to strategic and tactical maneuvers to gain temporary or short-term advantages.

The TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) that was drafted last Monday (October 5, 2015) signaled the coming to an end of the comparative economic advantage China has gained under the WTO.

If China does not seriously implement reforms, then eventually its choice will be limited to taking a big left turn politically.

There are many indications that the change in political direction has been underway.

To insure its own survival and with the concentration of power under Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China may take a very big left turn yet.

But that is not in the national interest of China.

May God bless China and her people.


Reference:

"Preamble to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (2004)", npc.gov.cn,
http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/Constitution/2007-11/15/content_1372962.htm
(accessed 2015-10-10).

End.

[Music] A Woman from of Old -- Tamia Liu

Posters for Nirvana in Fire (2015)

Tamia Liu

1. A Woman from of Old ("红颜旧") is one of two sub-theme songs for the Chinese TV drama Nirvana in Fire ("瑯琊榜") (2015).

This drama is consisted of 55 episodes and its broadcast is still ongoing in China.

As of today (Monday, October 5), 34 of the 55 episodes have been broadcasted.

Nirvana in Fire ("瑯琊榜") is based on a novel first published on the internet and its main themes are (a) palace intrigues / power struggles and their interplay with (b) martial arts heroes.

I have not read the internet novel but judging by what have been broadcasted so far, this TV drama is very well produced.

I understand that the internet novel is not set in a particular time period but for specificity (including what costumes to use), the TV drama is set in the Liang Dynasty ("梁") (502–557) and specifically the later part of the rule of Emperor Wu of Liang ("梁武帝") (502–549).

Because of the producers attention to details, I have learned quite a bit about Liang Dynasty's clothing and customs.

 
2. There are three theme songs for this TV drama:

(a) When the Wind Rises ("风起时") (theme song) by Hugh Hu;

(b) A Woman from of Old ("红颜旧") (sub-theme song) by Tamia Liu; and

(c) Our Blood Will Remain Red ("赤血长殷") (sub-theme song) by Nick Wang.

Hugh Hu and Tamia Liu are the male and female leads for this drama and Nick Wang is also one of the main actors.

I like all three songs but have a preference among them:

First, A Woman from of Old by Tamia Liu.

Second, When the Wind Rises by Hugh Hu.

Third, Our Blood Will Remain Red by Nick Wang.


3. A Woman from of Old ("红颜旧") by Tamia Liu:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noZGNFiKX30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O3Undo6HTg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRBOachwR94

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGmDCWXc2OQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRu40V9Py1c


4. When the Wind Rises ("风起时") by Hugh Hu:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkKmNhoRuJA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PnVrMYIFuI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_PpbviU2cc


5. Our Blood Will Remain Red ("赤血长殷") by Nick Wang:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeWBpxSKyc8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVqXX_9mg7o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HHR8IEKvK4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gf7gAckJ-o


6. The Lyrics in Traditional Chinese:


紅顏舊 -- 劉濤

西風夜渡寒山雨
家國依稀殘夢裡
思君不見倍思君
別離難忍忍別離

* 狼煙烽火何時休
成王敗寇盡東流
蠟炬已殘淚難乾
江山未老紅顏舊

# 忍別離
不忍卻又別離
托鴻雁南去
不知此心何寄

@ 紅顏舊
任憑斗轉星移
唯不變此情悠悠

Repeat *, #, @, #, @

唯不變此情悠悠
唯不變此情悠悠


7. The Lyrics in Simplified Chinese:


红颜旧 -- 刘涛

西风夜渡寒山雨
家国依稀残梦里
思君不见倍思君
别离难忍忍别离

* 狼烟烽火何时休
成王败寇尽东流
蜡炬已残泪难干
江山未老红颜旧

# 忍别离
不忍却又别离
托鸿雁南去
不知此心何寄

@ 红颜旧
任凭斗转星移
唯不变此情悠悠

Repeat *, #, @, #, @

唯不变此情悠悠
唯不变此情悠悠


8. Names, Words and Phrases:

Hugh Hu (Traditional Chinese: 胡歌; Simplified Chinese: 胡歌).

[English transliteration] (Hu Ge).

Nick Wang (Traditional: 王凱; Simplified: 王凯).

[English transliteration] (Wang Kai).

Tamia Liu (Traditional: 劉濤; Simplified: 刘涛).

[English transliteration] (Liu Tao).

 
References:

"List of rulers of China", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_monarchs#Five_dynasties_and_Ten_Kingdoms
(accessed 2015-10-05).

""瑯琊榜 (電視劇)", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E7%91%AF%E7%90%8A%E6%A6%9C_%28%E9%9B%BB%E8%A6%96%E5%8A%87%29
(accessed 2015-10-05).

"琅琊榜", baike.baidu.com,
http://baike.baidu.com/subview/1562685/12093740.htm
(accessed 2015-10-05).

"胡歌", baike.baidu.com,
http://baike.baidu.com/subview/15679/15679.htm
(accessed 2015-10-05).

"刘涛", baike.baidu.com,
http://baike.baidu.com/subview/35619/5930620.htm
(accessed 2015-10-05).

"王凯", baike.baidu.com,
http://baike.baidu.com/subview/3744/5628618.htm
(accessed 2015-10-05).

"风起时", baike.baidu.com,
http://baike.baidu.com/subview/13272227/18661384.htm
(accessed 2015-10-05).

"红颜旧", baike.baidu.com,
http://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%BA%A2%E9%A2%9C%E6%97%A7
(accessed 2015-10-05).

"赤血长殷", baike.baidu.com,
http://baike.baidu.com/subview/14768400/18945893.htm
 (accessed 2015-10-05).

End.

[Opinion] Historical Atlas of China

 Timeline of Chinese History

Map of Western Han (206 BCE - 9 CE)

1. Chinese Quotation of the Day:


顧憲成 (1550 - 1612)


<< 東林書院門前對聯 >>

風聲，雨聲，讀書聲，聲聲入耳；

家事，國事，天下事，事事關心。


2. "中国历史地图 Historical Atlas of China":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-foZ5RcCm8U

When I watched this 42 minutes video on YouTube some weeks ago, I was nearly moved to tears.

Many thoughts and emotions ran through my mind.

I cannot help but wonder how many persons lived and died in the 4,000 years that were depicted in the video and what were the circumstances of their lives and deaths.

I cannot help but wonder how many persons died as a result of wars and natural disasters and how many of those were unnatural and preventable.

I cannot help but wonder how many persons dedicated their lives to the betterment of China and how many of those ended in despair.

I cannot help but wonder why China misses opportunity after opportunities for reform in the last 200 years and seems to be continuing doing so.

May God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, be gracious and merciful to China and her people.


3. Other Historical Atlases of China:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PdrnHA4Ydg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dJ_MLirHhs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUxD9HmAEeM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVCUld6LXTU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQiFrKaVk2Y


Reference:

"顧憲成", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E9%A1%A7%E6%86%B2%E6%88%90
(accessed 2015-10-04).

End.